Wadena RCMP have seen “a huge amount of success” finding impaired drivers on grid roads, Sgt. Burton Jones says.

“People have said to us, ‘geez, I haven’t seen police on a gravel road in 10 years.’ We were proud of that, for getting beyond the pavement.”

Saskatchewan’s Traffic Safety Act, unlike some other provinces, allows police to check driver sobriety without the vehicle needing to be serving, or missing a tail light,

“We can pull over basically any vehicle that’s driving on the road to ensure the driver is sober and that they have a license, and the vehicle is registered,” Jones said.

That means police can hit gravel roads at random times and pull over vehicles they see. They’ll also park with their car’s lights off on an approach to pull over vehicles that pass by.

The detachment also reports it has once again seen a spike in speeders during spring.

Police caught 75 drivers speeding in April, up from 29 in March.

“When the nice warm weather comes out and the snow is gone, it’s consistent with years we’ve had before. Speeding just goes right through the roof,” Jones said.

That figure was one of the items in his report to Wadena Town Council.

He also answered common questions about ATV safety, particularly around the ever more popular side-by-side vehicles.

“A lot of people don’t believe because they have a seatbelt they shouldn't have to wear a helmet or eye protection or those types of things. But they are still classified as all-terrain vehicles in this province and they still fall under the exact same laws as a quad.”

While a quad can’t have a license plate in Saskatchewan, a driver must still have liability insurance if they operate it on public land such as ditches or public roads, he said.

RCMP have ATVs and a side-by-side to enforce those laws, and police attend quad rallies, he said.